The Olsens respond to intern lawsuit

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A spokesperson for Dualstar, the entertainment group founded by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, has responded to allegations that the twins' luxury fashion label treated its interns poorly and did not pay them adequately.

40 past and present interns at The Row are suing the company for wage theft. But Annett Wolf, a representative for the company, has defended the claims. Writing a statement to USA TODAY she said: "As an initial matter, Dualstar is an organization that is committed to treating all individuals fairly and in accordance with all applicable laws."

She added: "The allegations in the complaint filed against Dualstar are groundless, and Dualstar will vigorously defend itself against plaintiff's claims in court, not before the media. Dualstar is confident that once the true facts of this case are revealed, the lawsuit will be dismissed in its entirety."

The New York Post reports that lead plaintiff Shahista Lalani has filed a class-action suit at Manhattan Supreme Court after working 50-hours weeks at the brand without being paid.

But the former intern doesn’t have any issue with the multi-millionaire actress-turned-designer siblings themselves, who she describes as “really nice people. They were never mean to anyone. They’re business people.”

Instead, she explains it was the “very demanding” head technical designer who treated her and fellow interns poorly. “I was doing the work of three interns. I was talking to her all day, all night. E-mails at nighttime for the next day, like 10 p.m. at night” Lalani said. She adds how: “When we weren’t doing something, they’d be like, ‘Organize the buttons in the back by color code.’ You’re cleaning. You don’t get a set 15-minute break. You just go with their crazy flow. You just [got] caught up in the pressure.”

The Canadian says she was hospitalised for dehydration because of the job’s demands. She explained: “You’re like an employee, except you’re not getting paid. They’re kind of mean to you. Other interns have cried. I’d see a lot of kids crying doing coffee runs, photocopying stuff.”

The outcome could well go in favour of the interns; last year Condé Nast agreed to pay 7,000 former interns a total of $5.8m in a class-action lawsuit that accused the publishing house of underpaying its workers. The company retroactively paid out wages from the past seven years to interns who successfully claimed that their tasks amounted to the same work as paid staff, and thus deserved payment.